Not bump related! Vet quoted us £250 for treatment, now charging £330?

[MrsClark24]

I've just had my pooch in at the vets for treatment. When I booked the appointment I was told twice by two different nurses that I would be charged £250, which I agreed to. This morning I dropped my pup off and confirmed again that it would be £250, and they agreed it would be.

Just had a phonecall from the vet, he said that treatment went well (Phew!) but the nurses misquoted me. The price for the procedure has changed and it's now £330.

I'm really annoyed! I budgeted for £250 and was ok to pay that, but now it's an extra £80 when I was told THREE TIMES that it would be £250. Apparently the fees went up in November 12, I booked this appointment in March 13!

Should I have to pay for their mistake? It doesn't seem fair that they complete the treatment then decide to charge me more!!

Any help or advice would be awesome. I don't know where I stand with this at all!

 

[CatherineK]

If you have a signed quote I would fight the extra charge !

 

[rotts05]

Was it just a routine op? Or was it treatment?
I was a vet nurse before having babies and find it really hard to believe that 3 people would all get the price of a routine op wrong (yet all gave you the same wrong price if that makes sense).
Animals admitted and treated for illness or injury can be different as costs can creep up but set price procedures shouldn't alter. If prices have gone up then 4 months is plenty of time to learn the new prices x

 

[amjon]

Did they do something extra that cost the 80? Sometimes they have an exam charge or procedure charge, but if they run into issues and need more medication or something it ends up being more. If they only did what they quoted I would talk to the office manager and tell they you expect to only pay what was quoted. If it was something extra that needed to be done I would tell them you only have the 250 now and will make payments on the rest as you hadn't budgeted for it.

 

[MrsClark24]

It was just xrays so we can have her hip and elbow scores done for if we want to breed. Shes a Labrador so we decided to get them done

We were told that they would need 4 xrays and it would be £250. When the vet rang he said that the nurses were wrong, in fact they needed 6 xrays and therefore the cost was more. Apparently these new procedures came in November last year.

The treatment was planned and we knew that she would be under GA for the xrays and that they would take 4 xrays. Then the vet said the procedure was to take more.

Argh!

 

[amjon]

It was just xrays so we can have her hip and elbow scores done for if we want to breed. Shes a Labrador so we decided to get them done

We were told that they would need 4 xrays and it would be £250. When the vet rang he said that the nurses were wrong, in fact they needed 6 xrays and therefore the cost was more. Apparently these new procedures came in November last year.

The treatment was planned and we knew that she would be under GA for the xrays and that they would take 4 xrays. Then the vet said the procedure was to take more.

Argh!

Since they did need more than what they had quoted you I would tell them you need to make payment arrangements for the rest as you don't have it in the budget now. They should be fine with that since they did quote you less.

 

[rotts05]

So the bva ask for 6 views now rather than 4? Or your vets took 6 views?
Its a bit unfair the 3 people who gave you a quote didn't know the new requirements or that prices have gone up.

 

[discoclare]

arrghh. this has happened to us several times with our cats (and for a much bigger increase than 80 quid!). Annoying. But for us it happened for treatment due to broken leg / surgery on one occasion and illness on another so a bit different to something routine, since they were only guessing how much it would cost to fix our cats. Personally I think they should swallow the extra cost themselves since they misquoted you on something routine, that would be the most courteous thing. Perhaps write to them stating that you are unhappy with the increase to the charges and see if they agree to reduce it once they have something in black and white.

 

[m00min]

I am a Veterinary Nurse and if this had happened in my practice, then you would be charged the original price you were quoted as it was a routine procedure. It is the nurses fault and the price you were quoted should have been documented in your notes. It is not fair to say "oops we got the price wrong, please pay more." If it wasn't an elective procedure then quotes are sometimes harder to get right, as there could be additional costs incurred that only became apparent once the procedure had begun. In this case, you should definitely complain and refuse to pay the extra. Hope this helps x

 

[Abz1982]

Have you checked to see they do really need 6 xrays?

I have gripes with my old vets over costs relating to my horse...........the vet came out diagnosed colic when it CLEARLY was not and 3 experienced folk were saying it was clearly neurological.......but not this guy was a practice partner so HAD to be right..........got a new vet next day and within 10 mins she could say yes definitely neurological. She was LESS experienced than previous vet - yet at same practice. So I have refused to pay for the first call out, especially as had we known that day I would have had him PTS then and there and not had to have 3 other vet call out charges and a distressed and downed horse in a field!

They cant want it that much as my sisters SIL works at the vets and has never mentioned anything and she knows about it.

 

[GoldenStars]

I imagine the BVA only need four but your vets do six to send off the best four. You can get naff scores if someone does the x rays but doesn't have the dog in the correct position so I was careful where I took mine. In May 2010 it cost me £150 for both, joys of inflation..! If ask why they do six and if its for the above reason say you were incorrectly advised this was procedure and don't pay it. Ask to talk to the practice manager and see how you go, no way would I pay up.

Are you testing for PRA too or leaving that until you decide if you are going to breed?